A New Interest
by sierra lynn hostevich
Summary: Suze realizes what little chance she has with Jessie, but a promising new ghost enters the picture. However, there are many obstacles in the way of their romance. Chapter 4 is up! Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **None of these characters are mine, they all belong to Meg Cabot.

Chapter 1 

I rolled over in bed and glanced at my alarm clock. 8:15. I turned back over, then quickly whirled around in a panic. 8:15?! I had fifteen minutes to get to school on time.

I quickly threw my legs over the side of my bed and used a hair tie sitting on my dresser to pull my hair into a messy ponytail. I grabbed a t-shirt and some jeans from my dresser and pulled them on without really looking at them. Not bothering with makeup, I threw on my shoes and ran out of my bedroom. I quickly chugged a glass of orange juice and grabbed a protein bar from the pantry. I ran toward our entryway, praying that Dopey hadn't left for school yet…

No such luck. Dopey's brand new silver Mercedes Benz, a birthday present from my step-brother's uber-rich grandma, was not in the driveway. Grabbing a coat hanging on a hook, not realizing it was Sleepy's, I reluctantly headed to the garage to retrieve my bike.

The ride to school was…interesting, to say the least. Slamming on your brakes at the bottom of Oak Leaf street, a steep hill, when you see a totally hot ghost standing in the path of your bike, definitely qualified the ride as different.

He had blackish-brown hair, tan skin, and pale blue eyes. He was a total hottie. Maybe not as hot as Jessie, but right up there. I didn't understand, however, why he stopped me and nearly killed me by making me fly over my handle bars.

"Um, excuse me!" I said hastily. This was annoying.

"Wait." He said, with a look of surprise on his face.

"What?" I said, braking and looking back at him.

"You can…see me?"

I rolled my eyes. I get this kind of rookie ghost, the ones who are just realizing no one can see them except me, all the time.

"Yeah, yeah, buddy, I can see you. But I'm really in a hurry."

"But..wait. Why I am here? I don't understand."

I really didn't have time to explain the whole-life-after-death thing to the poor guy. Sister Adeline, my bio teacher, was not going to understand my excuse of, Oh, sorry I'm late, I had to stop and explain the afterlife to a totally gorgeous dead guy. That would not play with sister Adeline, who has a mustache bigger than the one Doc is trying to grow.

"Um, look, I can't talk now. I can talk to you later, maybe, right here,…?"

"It's Aiden. And yeah, that would be okay.."

"Great. I'll come back after school, but I'm late."

And with that, I sped off on my bike.

I couldn't help noticing that guy's very, very white teeth and well-defined chest under his tight-ish t-shirt.

I was kind of looking forward to this afternoon.

That is, until I saw Grace Tophes on my way to Biology.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews! Chapter 2 is up, let me know what you think.**

Chapter 2 

Grace Tophes, who I don't know very well, was sitting with red-rimmed eyes and a runny nose on the wall of the school. Normally surrounded by a gaggle of giggling blond girls, she was by herself. She was holding a square of ripped and burned cloth in her hands that was a light blue. I ignored her, figuring she wanted to be left alone. And it's not like were best buddies. But I couldn't help feeling a little sorry for her.

I couldn't get my mind off of Aiden all day. Yes, I am hopelessly in love with Jessie, a guy like a hundred years older than me, and, you know, dead. But I seem to have a thing for dead guys. This guy was…nice. He had a kind of innocence about him, and totally gorgeous baby-blue eyes. Jessie's eyes are nice, don't get me wrong, but Aiden's eyes were…piercing. I wanted to smack myself. Why not fall in love with a living, breathing guy, who I actually might have a future with? I'm a very strange person. And, I reminded myself, I already have a ghostly crush. I don't need another one.

After a mundane day at school, I rode my bike back to where I had met Aiden earlier. He was sitting down, leaning against the bottom of the street sign and tossing rocks into the road, which must have looked very strange to someone who could not see him.

"Um, hi." I said, tucking my hair behind my ear and approaching him cautiously.

"Hey," he said, springing up and tossing a last rock into the road.

"Um, so do you want to know now? About the afterlife, and all, I mean?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. I really don't understand."

I proceeded to explain about how when someone dies, if they have some unresolved business on earth, they stay here in a ghostly form until they can fix whatever their problem is. I told him that it is my job, as a mediator, to help him out with whatever's keeping him here.

"So, you're telling me I have some unfinished business with somebody, or something…but once I take care of that, where do I go?"

I laughed a little to myself. "I don't know. No one knows, except, you know, people who are there."

"Oh." He looked a little disappointed.

I felt bad for the poor guy. I mean, it's got to be pretty daunting, being dead and not knowing where you'll go next.

I looked at the clock on my cell phone and realized that I was going to be late for dinner, which Andy really hates.

"Look, I have to go, but if you have any more questions, I'm happy to help."

"Um, okay. Bye." And he continued to sit there, very morosely, staring off into the distance.

Looking like a deep-thinking, incredibly hot guy.

I couldn't get my mind off of Aiden all day, It was something about the eyes. I also couldn't get Grace Tophes out of my head. That was a little too weird. I fell into a fitful sleep, full of blue eyes and muscle tees, when I was being shaken awake. Glancing at my clock, I realized that it was 3 AM, and I turned over to see who had disturbed me.

Grace Tophes was standing by my bedside.

Kind of a short update, but I needed to continue the story. Please give me feedback!! 


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you again for all of the reviews. Here's Chapter 3: It's a very short chapter that ends with a cliffhanger, it's just needed to propel the story along. Chapter 4 will be much longer, it'll be up sometime later today or tomorrow. Give me some feed back!

Chapter 3 

"So, you think you can just walk up and take him away from me?" Grace Tophes asked, sitting on the edge of my bed and examining the trinkets on my nightstand.

"Wait…what? Who are you talking about?" I asked groggily. _Not another one of Jesse's lovers._

I couldn't help noticing that there was no ghostly glow around this girl. She was resolutely solid and human. I also wondered how she got up here. Mom and Andy are good about locking the doors and stuff.

"Oh, I saw you getting friendly with Aiden down at the bottom of Oak Leaf Street. I've heard about you and your—romantic escapades with ghosts, Suze."

"Wait, Aiden? I just met the guy today. I was just explaining some stuff to him. And, if you're alive, how do you even know…" My voice faltered, as I realized that Paul and I must not be the only mediators in Carmel.

Grace Tophes was one too.

Sorry it's so short, please let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

b My day has been very boring, so I'm going to put up Chapter 4. Enjoy… /b 

** b Chapter 4 /b **

This was a little too much for one night.

"I barely even know Aiden. He just seemed confused. Sorry if he was, you know, "yours"." I said, sitting up and leaning against my headboard.

"Yeah, well, Aiden is mine. Don't even try to explain things to him, don't talk to him, don't…." Grace bit her bottom lip. "Just stay away from him, okay?"

She suddenly went from looking absolutely miserable to very, very angry.

"And if you don't," She continued malevolently, "I'll find you. And you'll regret messing with me."

"Um, o-okay." I said. I couldn't help feeling a little intimidated. This girl had somehow gotten into my room, and I was pretty convinced that she _could_ find me anywhere. Then, I started getting mad. She really did have no right to come up here and threaten me. I felt like such a doormat.

"But, wait. What gives you the right to come up in my room and tell me what to do? What are you hiding?" I asked standing up and pulling sweatpants on over my shorts.

"She looked a little taken aback. "Nothing. You don't have to go all defensive on me. I was just warning you to stay away from him."

"Yeah? Well, back off. There's nothing between us, if that's what you're worried about. And I'd be perfectly happy never to talk to him again." Not true. But, I had woken up now, and I was realizing just how mad I was.

"Well, you just have to trust me. But from what I've heard, you can't even pass on that dead pervert who lives in your room. You have no hope of passing on Aiden."

That was the final straw. It was a combination of sheer anger at her ploy against Jesse and I and annoyance at being woken up that made me tackle Grace Tophes through my bedroom window out onto the deck.

Which made a huge crash that made everyone; Doc, Dopey, Sleepy, Mom, Andy and Jessie, come running.

The live people in that group thought I was having some kind of fit or seizure, because I was wrestling with myself, apparently.

Which meant that Grace Tophes wasn't alive.

She wasn't dead either.

**Cliffie! Please let me know what you think. Chapter 5 will be up soon. )**


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